Three county commissioners spoke favorably Monday of a plan to merge the K-State Research & Extension offices in Douglas and Shawnee counties.

But that won’t be enough to pass the proposal, which is supported by extension staff and board members in both counties.

No vote on the merger was taken during Monday’s joint meeting of the two county commissions. But Shawnee County Commissioner Marice Kane spoke against it, while Douglas County Commissioner Jere McElhaney and Shawnee County commissioners Ted Ensley and Vic Miller said they favored the idea.

Douglas County commissioners Bob Johnson and Charles Jones said they remained skeptical of the proposal. Both said they didn’t like the plan because it would create a new taxing authority to fund the combined agencies.

K-State Research & Extension staff and board members in both counties want the merger because it would allow for more programs and specialization among extension agents.

Miller said he walked into the meeting skeptical. But he said he was swayed by information about how other counties that formed similar districts were able to reduce county taxes while maintaining individual county control.

“I don’t believe in reality that we’re giving up control,” he said. “We could pull the plug.”

Miller added that he would want to give the extension district time to see how it worked.

Johnson said he didn’t like the idea of approving the merger only to end it years later, saying he didn’t believe that was good policy.

Johnson, Jones and Kane said they would like K-State Research & Extension staff and board members to consider an agreement that would allow them to share programming, which is one of the reasons cited for the merger.

Miller said he wasn’t sure an agreement short of a merger was workable.

“The bottom line is, if we’re going to do it, we need to have some degree of trust,” he said.

But Johnson said looking into the idea of a shared programming agreement couldn’t hurt. He said it could be the best way to show the benefits of a merger.

“And while an agreement is not a merger, it seems to be a significant step in that direction,” Johnson said.